AT&T Staff Confused on Grandfathered Unlimited Data

Grandfathers are supposed to be sweet and supportive, but AT&T is playing the crotchety kind. Thanks to Rob Pegoraro at the Washington Post [1], we see the iPhone’s U.S. cellular provider has stopped letting some longstanding customers keep their unlimited data plans on some devices, such as laptop USB “modems,” not just when moving to a new contract, but even on existing contracts. But what about iPhone data plans?

AT&T had said in June that existing iPhone customers could keep the unlimited data plan until they canceled or changed their service plan, even when upgrading to a new iPhone. However, some AT&T customer service reps are saying that the company has changed its mind and is forcing customers to choose the $15 DataPlus plan (200 MB/month) or $25 DataPro plan (2 GB/month) to replace their existing $30 unlimited plan, whether or not they want to switch.

An AT&T media contact assures us, “There has been no change to the policy that existing AT&T smartphone customers with unlimited plans can keep those plans if they choose when upgrading to another smartphone.”